.Bob Pockrass.FOX NASCAR Expert.The most significant problem of those defending a playoff spot in the NASCAR Mug Series is that a chauffeur that isn't remotely in the mix safes into the playoffs with a dismayed victory.Hello, Austin DillonDillon, who was 32nd in the status getting in Richmond, placed himself in the playoffs with a victory-- albeit a questionable one-- on Sunday, the 23rd nationality of the 26-race frequent season.Following Richmond, 3 nationalities stay to establish the playoff field: Michigan, Daytona and Darlington.The NASCAR playoffs feature 16 drivers-- the regular-season champion and then the following 15 drivers positioned through wins along with dead heats violated by points.With the best seven motorists in the standings all contending minimum one triumph, the regular-season champion likely will be among the victors. Thirteen drivers have succeeded this year, indicating up to 3 places might be accessible on factors. Therefore who remains in, who's on the blister as well as who is at win-at-all-costs? Those 13 chauffeurs along with success who reside in: Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Hunt Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, Austin Cindric and Austin Dillon.The blister transformed dramatically along with Dillon's victory as now at most simply 3 locations-- certainly not 4 as just before the Richmond competition-- might be available to winless chauffeurs. Both Chris Buescher and also Ross Chastain fell beneath the cutline while Bubba Wallace moved to the silver lining of being among the 3 winless chauffeurs with the best points.Joey Logano talks about Austin Dillon's overtime move to gain the 400 So let's get to the points: There are actually 5 winless motorists that would be actually fighting for the present three locations available only on points.Martin Truex Jr. has a 78-point edge on the cutline (currently Buescher as well as Chastain), with 60 points on Ty Gibbs, that is 15 factors over Wallace. Buescher and also Chastain, tied in the status, are actually three aspects behind Wallace.In various other terms, it is actually mosting likely to be actually a fight to the finish.Buescher won at Michigan as well as Daytona in 2015, however those likewise are actually locations where Wallace customarily has operated well. Gibbs still finds his initial occupation Cup succeed. Chastain is the vehicle driver with the absolute most recent knowledge in playoff tension scenarios, where he mainly has shown he can make factors happen.There are 16 other playoff-eligible drivers who more or less skin must-win scenarios: Chase Briscoe, Kyle Busch, Todd Gilliland, Josh Berry, Michael McDowell, Carson Hocevar, Noah Gragson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Erik Jones, Ryan Preece, Daniel Hemric, Justin Haley, Corey LaJoie, John Hunter Nemechek, Harrison Burton as well as Zane Smith.Bob Pockrass deals with NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has invested decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, along with jobs at ESPN, Sporting Updates, NASCAR Scene publication as well as The (Daytona Seashore) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass. Obtain much more coming from NASCAR Mug Set Follow your preferences to acquire info about video games, information and also even more.